Duchagne
Duchagne 'Bloodline Curse: the Boredom Curse' In addition to the Wanton Curse all Daeva suffer, Duchagne tend to grow weary of simple pleasures quicker than most vampires. That which thrilled the vampire one day is discarded as passé the next. Within a few years, only the most deviant acts manage to stir any emotion in the Bacchantes. The Duchagne can only regain all their Willpower back from fulfilling either Mask or Dirge if doing so also constitutes a Breaking Point. As well as this, all Duchagne vampires suffer from a cumulative -1 die penalty on extended actions. For example, if a Duchagne character were to paint a portrait, the Storyteller may declare it as an extended Dexterity + Crafts action. The first roll is unmodified. A -1 die penalty would be applied to the second roll, a -2 penalty to the third, a -3 penalty to the fourth, and so on. He may continue rolling a total number of times equal to his Attribute + Skill, as is usual for extended actions, even if the last roll/s are on a chance die. 'Bloodline Gift: Intimé' Most Bacchantes develop some familiarity with either Majesty or Nightmare, which allow the user to play with a victim's emotions like a cheap harmonica. The changes these Disciplines evoke are not subtle, however: they set the victim on an emotional rollercoaster, with soaring highs and plummeting lows, and a canny observer (such as another vampire) can make a reasonable guess that the emotional state so induced is unnatural. The Duchagne strike like a scalpel rather than a hammer, creating significantly more subtle effects. Intimé tilts the emotions of the victim, nudging them toward a desired emotional state. This is an instant action, which requires neither Vitae nor dice roll. The victim experiences this emotional nudge as entirely natural, associating a sound, smell, or other sense with a past memory tied to the relevant emotion. This biases their emotions without outright controlling them, awarding a +1 die modifier to any roll to manipulate the victim in a manner befitting the type of memory stirred. This effect lasts until the end of the scene. Duchagne gain this ability for free. Those not of the Bloodline can learn it as a Devotion costing 2 Experiences (10 Beats), as per the usual rules for Bloodline Devotions. 'Disciplines' Celerity, Majesty, Nightmare, Vigor 'Licencieux Devotions' ''La Touche Illusoire'' (Majesty •, Nightmare •) Using this power, the Duchagne may create the momentary illusion of sensation in a target's mind. Without spending vitae this is a subtle feeling, either pleasant (such as an affectionate stroke) or unpleasant (such as an angry slap). With the expenditure of vitae the sensation becomes significantly more extreme, the target's body flooded with intense pleasure or wracked with extreme pain. In either case it causes no physical damage to the target, and requires the vampire to have a clear view of her target. Cost: None or 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Intelligence + Expression + Majesty versus target's Composure + Blood Potency Action: Contested Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The vampire attempting the power feels the intended illusion (and experiences its mechanical consequences) herself. She may not use this power again for the remainder of the scene. Failure: The effect fails to activate. Success: Without Vitae: The target feels either a gentle stroke or a sharp slap, as intended by the user. This is a quick sensation which effectively reduces the target's Composure by 1 for a number of turns equal to successes. With Vitae: The target is unable to take any action for the next turn, except to defend himself against incoming attack. If the number of successes exceeds the subject's Composure, he must roll Resolve + Composure. If he succeeds in this roll, he takes a -1 penalty to Composure, which lasts for a number of turns equal to the Duchagne's original successes and stacks with other uses of this power. If he fails, he either gains the Obsessed Condition for the action in which he's currently engaged (if the sensation is pleasurable) or the Shaken Condition (if the sensation is agonizing). In either case, the Condition is removed without resolution after a number of nights equal to the Duchagne's Blood Potency. Exceptional Success: Without Vitae: As above, but the target's Composure is effectively reduced by 2 for the remainder of the scene. With Vitae: As above, but the victim also suffers a -1 penalty to all actions (except defense) for the remainder of the scene. This Devotion costs 2 experiences (10 Beats) to learn. ''Insensate'' (Majesty •, Nightmare ••) Much can be accomplished through proper stimulation, yet not being able to sense the world around you can become far more tortuous. Sadistic Kindred use this power to cripple their victims, dimming one sense after another in a cycle of sensory deprivation. The Duchagne must speak to the target, mentioning the sense that he intends to affect. In order to use Insensate, the Kindred draws upon his own detachment and “shares” it with the subject. Doing so causes a slight increase in the Duchagne vampire’s own separation from his bodily senses. Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Intelligence + Subterfuge + Nightmare versus target's Resolve + Blood Potency Action: Contested Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The vampire dims his own sense, suffering the full effects of the power as if he were the target. Failure: The power fails to take hold. Success: The vampire inflicts a tilt from the following list on the victim. This tilt lasts a single round, but the vampire may continue to apply one tilt each round as a reflexive action for a number of rounds equal to the number of successes made in excess of the victim's. The same tilt cannot be chosen twice in a row. The victim experiences this as the relevant sense dimming significantly — sight fades and blurs, hearing becomes muted, flesh numbs, they lose their sense of balance. :Blinded (One eye) :Deafened (One ear) :Stunned :Knocked Down Exceptional Success: As above, but the list of optional tilts is expanded to include: :Blinded (Both eyes) :Deafened (Both ears) :Insensate This Devotion costs 2 Experiences (10 Beats) ''Jardin d'Agrément'' (Majesty ••, Nightmare •) To activate the power, the Duchagne must be able to see the victim, and must choose the emotion he wishes to inspire in her. It can be a simple concept such as love, regret or nostalgia, or it can be more complex, such as “queasy frustration” or “angry, jealous desire.” The victim then falls into a growing wash of false input, intermingling with and tainting the real world. Unlike The Grand Delusion, the user remains unaware of the details of the victim's hallucination. Unlike Green Eyes, the victim acquires no particular attachment toward the user, nor any compulsion to fulfill a task. The Duchagne does not control what the victim sees or does, but rather how it will make her feel. An ordinary traffic light can seem forlorn, inspiring feelings of sadness and remorse just by changing colors a little more slowly than normal. The same light might seem to bathe another victim in a warm glow, bestowing a false sense of happiness and security. Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Intelligence + Subterfuge + Majesty versus target's Composure + Blood Potency Prerequisite: The target must be under the effects of either Awe or Dread Presence. Duration: One scene. Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The vampire slips helplessly into a waking dream of his own making and is influenced by the emotion he intended to bring out in his victim. In addition, he cannot use any emotion-altering power on the subject for the remainder of the night. Failure: The power fails to activate. Success: The subject is overwhelmed by the warping effect of the Jardin d’Agrément, and the whole of his surroundings are suffused with false meaning. A victim caught in a pleasurable vision may not understand an attack until it occurs — likewise, one caught in the throes of a wrathful one may not understand a conciliatory attempt. The victim acquires the Biased Condition. Exceptional Success: As above, except that the Jardin lasts until the next sunset. This Devotion costs 2 Experiences (10 Beats). 'Condition: Biased' You interpret the world through the lens of a particular emotion. Everything you see and hear works toward imposing and multiplying the chosen emotion, completely changing your outlook and making it almost impossible to function normally. Any action that seems to run contrary to your emotional expectations will force a Resolve + Composure check to see if you can interpret it properly. If this roll fails, you experience minor hallucinations that bring your observed reality in line with your expectations, such as the cop who shoots the black teenager because he thinks the soda can the boy is holding is a gun. Resolution: You suffer a breaking point due to your warped beliefs. Beat: You maintain your bias despite evidence to the contrary. 'Source' Roger William Barnes, Bloodlines: The Chosen, pp 36-45. This Blood & Smoke revision is by Is_A_Becca, and subject to tweaks and changes. Category:Bloodlines Category:Daeva Category:Translations Category:Conditions Category:Devotions